Greek plays had 3 different main types of genres: Comedy, satyr plays, and tragedy. The actors were all men in these plays, and plays were started to honor the Greek god Dionysus.
Comedies were mainly satirical and made fun of men in power for their vanity and foolishness. The first master of comedy was Aristophanes, and later Menander wrote comedies about regular people, these plays were similar to sit-coms. The Frogs by Aristophanes is one Greek comedy that makes fun of the great Greek playwrights, Euripides and Aeschylus. The two writers are competing to see who is the best tragic poet in an imaginary battle with Dionysus serving as the Judge. Some serious political comments focused on real solutions to current Athenian events in the early 5th century B.C.E. lurk behind the fictional battle of wits.
Tragedies dealt with the big themes of pride, love, loss, abuse of power, and relationships between men and gods. Usually the protagonist in tragedies commits some major crime without realizing it, then as he realizes his error the world around him crumbles. Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides were the three great playwrights of tragedy. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles was first performed in 429 B.C.E and was his 2nd play to be produced. This tragedy follows a cursed family who is trying to escape their fate. The main character Oedipus is sent to be executed by his father, because his father believes the child will kill him. He is rescued by a royal family after being left in a field to die, and they raise him. When Oedipus is told by an Oracle that he will kill his father and sleep with his mother he flees home, only to run into his real parents, who had abandoned him. And of course there are disastrous results.
Satyr Plays are short plays, performed between acts of comedies that mock the situation of characters or myths. The satyrs were mythical half-human, half-goat figures. Pratinas is believed to have invented satyr plays, but few examples of these plays survive. Cyclops by Euripides is an amusing tale about the satyrs finding themselves trapped in the cave of the cyclops Polyphemus alongside Odysseus from Homer's Odyssey, and was written in 408 B.C.E.
Greek theatre buildings were called a theatron. These theaters were large, open-air structures built on the slopes of hills. They were made up of 3 main elements; the orchestra, the audience, and the skene.
Indian literature is one of the earliest forms of literatures in the world. A large number of great Indian epics were created during the 1st millennium B.C.E.
The Ramayana is the earliest epic of India, written in the 6th century B.C.E. by Valmiki, who was a hunter, turned sage, and was the first poet in Sanskrit. This epic tells the story of lord Rama, who was and incarnate in human form of lord Vishnu. Rama was the most righteous man on earth, so he had to go through many obstacles, and had to give up his wife and happiness for the sake of his subjects.
The Raghuvamsa was written by Kalidasa, one of the greatest among ancient Indian writers in the 1st century C.E. This great epic has 19 cantos, and tells mystical stories about the rulers of the Solar Dynasty.
The Buddhacharita was written by Asvogosha, a Buddhist poet in the 2nd century C.E. This poem narrates the life of Buddha, from his birth until Nirvana. It is renowned for the details about Buddha's life, and it contains 28 cantos.
Africa
In Africa, ancestors are seen to have mystical powers and authority. They are thought to have active influence in the lives of their living relatives. African families are seen as a community of both living and dead ancestors. Africans honored their relatives by making rituals involving sacrifice. The ancestors of Africans also have different relationships to their living relatives. Elders are the closest to the deceased ancestors and often act as messengers between the ancestors and the other relatives. African death cults do not focus on how the dead live in the afterlife, but how they interact with the living on earth. Mohangwe Reliquary
Mediterranean
Egyptian religion featured a cult of the dead, but only the spirits of royalty were considered important. People venerated these spirits and honored in rites held by their royal descendants. The members of the ruling class were also venerated in Babylonia. They were remembered by festive ceremonies. In Zoroastrianism, the dead were believed to be involved in the affairs of the living. In Greece, ancestor worship and hero worship often overlapped. The spirits of men who were heroic during their lifetime were honored in special ceremonies and often made as objects of worship. Ancestor worship in Rome was considered a family activity. It was believed that deceased relatives would come visit their relatives and often interact in their lives.
Greek carving from the hero cult
East Asia
China and Japan were the greatest examples of ancestor worship in East Asia. The roots of ancestor worship in China come from the teachings of Confucius. He enforced a reverence for elders as a form of filial piety. Families in China were viewed as a close group of living and dead relatives. There were also many activities that took place to worship ancestors. Devotional acts took place in temples, homes and graveyards to honor ancestor spirits. The Chinese also made shrines for their deceased ancestors that contained a tablet with their name. Funerals and commemorative ceremonies were very important and very well planned. The relatives would make a pilgrimage to their deceased relative’s grave.
Most Japanese ancestor worship customs mimic those of China. Japanese Buddhists began to focus on many aspects of ancestor worship like commemorative ceremonies. Since many Confucian teachings became principles of Japanese Buddhist sects, filial piety was an important matter in Japan. There is also a celebration that happens yearly where the dead return to their home. Chinese Ancestor Shrine
Andean Areas The Incas respected their ancestors very highly. They dedicated the whole month of November to honor them. They called this celebration “Quechua”. During this month, the dead were removed from their tombs, adorned in fancy clothing, and given food, carried dancing through the streets, then laid to rest once again. This practice was done at first only with royal people of importance, but it was later common among all classes. The Incas believed in the departure of the soul from the body after death, but still mummified their royal ancestors and had them taken care of by guards. These ancestors participated in many council meetings and important decision making. Among the common classes, ancestors were kept in houses, tombs and shrines. They were regularly venerated and taken care of. They were regularly paid tribute by sacrifice and prayer. Veneration to relatives that were non-royal was usually only done by close relatives such as children and grandchi
ldren. These rituals were done to make good fortune for the living relatives. Inca Ancestor Mummies
Daoism: Medical Theories
Medical theories and practices are that they believe in acupuncture for healing. Evidence from these trials indicates that acupuncture is effective for emesis developing after surgery of for adults who have nausea associated with pregnancy. Good evidence exists that acupuncture is also effective for relieving dental pain. For such conditions as chronic pain, back pain, and headache.
Daoism influenced much of Chinese architecture which includes; temples, palaces, nunneries, altars, and huts. To this day, this architecture is still seen in china.
Poetry:
Poetry has always been an important aspect of Daoism practice. In Daoist poems we find expressions of the ineffable, praises of the beauty of the natural world, and playful paradoxical references to the mysterious Tao. The flowering of Daoist poetry occurred in the Tang Dynasty, with Li Po and Tu Fu as its most esteemed representatives.
Metallugry:
Daoists were the alchemists of china, in their quest for immortality they understood the workings of metal. Daoists were always coming up with new discoveries of the world and this happened to be one of them. The use of copper in ancient China dates to at least back to 2000 BC. The reason for the lack of earlier evidence of copper is that it was both highly valuable and reusable early bronze. Bronze Age began from around The Erlitouculture, Shang Dynasty and Sanxingdui culture of early China used bronze vessels for rituals as well as farming implements and weapons. By 1500 BC, excellent bronzes were being made in China in large quantities, partly as a display of status, and as many as 200 large pieces were buried with their owner for use in the afterlife, as in the Tomb of Fu Hao, a Shang queen.
Architecturalachievements of the Classical Era.
Architecture in classical times was pioneered by the Greeks. As historians call them there are five orders of architecture. Features of these orders are most noticeable in the columns. The orders are: Corinthian, Doric, Ionic, Composite and Tuscan. The composite as the name can tell were influenced by the Doric ionic and Corinthian orders. The early Doric columns had no base, were thinner at the top and had grooves
carved out on the sides. This earliest of the orders, Doric was used before the 6th century b.c.e. , was preceded by simple wooden columns. The next order Ionic added a base to the column and scroll/s at the top of the column. In the ionic one could tell the difference in the attention given the columns by the elaborately carved scrolls and designs on the top. The Corinthian columns have origins it Athens, and resembles the ionic but with a more elaborate top. The top usually contained carved leafs and even more detailed “capital” as historians call it.
When Greeks built public buildings they certainly loved to use marble but for personal house and other insignificant buildings they used wood. Later in history Greeks started to move toward limestone and marble for important buildings especially temples.
The Parthenon, some could argue was the pinnacle of Greek architecture, which housed the statue of Athena were built using Doric and ionic orders. Other temples such as the temple of Artemis, Poseidon and Zeu
Parthenon with visible Doric/Ionic Columns. http://architecture.about.com/od/periodsstyles/ig/Historic-Styles/Classical.htm
s were great examples of Greeks architectural achievement. Rome definitely did build enormous structure such as the coliseum and temples which were far more highly decorated the Greek styles, but we can th
Pyramid at Giza with Sphinx.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Egypt.Giza.Sphinx.02.jpg
ank the Greeks for their innovations such as the amphitheatre and the stadium.
Egyptians also had enormous pyramids built of solid stone to honor their king gods( pharaohs). The great sphinxes temples and obelisks were definitely a huge breakthrough in architectural achievements
Classical architecture influenced the western buildings and Europeans structures. The construction of enormous stadiums (Rome) amphitheaters and buildings containing columns (Greek) and even the Washington monument (Egyptian).
Literature and Drama
Greek plays had 3 different main types of genres: Comedy, satyr plays, and tragedy. The actors were all men in these plays, and plays were started to honor the Greek god Dionysus.Comedies were mainly satirical and made fun of men in power for their vanity and foolishness. The first master of comedy was Aristophanes, and later Menander wrote comedies about regular people, these plays were similar to sit-coms. The Frogs by Aristophanes is one Greek comedy that makes fun of the great Greek playwrights, Euripides and Aeschylus. The two writers are competing to see who is the best tragic poet in an imaginary battle with Dionysus serving as the Judge. Some serious political comments focused on real solutions to current Athenian events in the early 5th century B.C.E. lurk behind the fictional battle of wits.
Tragedies dealt with the big themes of pride, love, loss, abuse of power, and relationships between men and gods. Usually the protagonist in tragedies commits some major crime without realizing it, then as he realizes his error the world around him crumbles. Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides were the three great playwrights of tragedy. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles was first performed in 429 B.C.E and was his 2nd play to be produced. This tragedy follows a cursed family who is trying to escape their fate. The main character Oedipus is sent to be executed by his father, because his father believes the child will kill him. He is rescued by a royal family after being left in a field to die, and they raise him. When Oedipus is told by an Oracle that he will kill his father and sleep with his mother he flees home, only to run into his real parents, who had abandoned him. And of course there are disastrous results.
Satyr Plays are short plays, performed between acts of comedies that mock the situation of characters or myths. The satyrs were mythical half-human, half-goat figures. Pratinas is believed to have invented satyr plays, but few examples of these plays survive. Cyclops by Euripides is an amusing tale about the satyrs finding themselves trapped in the cave of the cyclops Polyphemus alongside Odysseus from Homer's Odyssey, and was written in 408 B.C.E.
http://www.pbs.org/empires/thegreeks/background/24c.html
www.bachelorsdegreeonline.com
http://www.usu.edu/markdamen/clasdram/chapters/081earlygkcom.htm
Indian literature is one of the earliest forms of literatures in the world. A large number of great Indian epics were created during the 1st millennium B.C.E.
The Ramayana is the earliest epic of India, written in the 6th century B.C.E. by Valmiki, who was a hunter, turned sage, and was the first poet in Sanskrit. This epic tells the story of lord Rama, who was and incarnate in human form of lord Vishnu. Rama was the most righteous man on earth, so he had to go through many obstacles, and had to give up his wife and happiness for the sake of his subjects.
The Raghuvamsa was written by Kalidasa, one of the greatest among ancient Indian writers in the 1st century C.E. This great epic has 19 cantos, and tells mystical stories about the rulers of the Solar Dynasty.
The Buddhacharita was written by Asvogosha, a Buddhist poet in the 2nd century C.E. This poem narrates the life of Buddha, from his birth until Nirvana. It is renowned for the details about Buddha's life, and it contains 28 cantos.
http://kumarparal.hubpages.com/hub/FAMOUS-EPICS-TOP-10-INDIAN-EPIC-POEMS-OF-ALL-TIME#
by Carla Viesca
REGIONS OF ANCESTOR WORSHIP
Africa
In Africa, ancestors are seen to have mystical powers and authority. They are thought to have active influence in the lives of their living relatives. African families are seen as a community of both living and dead ancestors. Africans honored their relatives by making rituals involving sacrifice. The ancestors of Africans also have different relationships to their living relatives. Elders are the closest to the deceased ancestors and often act as messengers between the ancestors and the other relatives. African death cults do not focus on how the dead live in the afterlife, but how they interact with the living on earth.
Mohangwe Reliquary
Mediterranean
Egyptian religion featured a cult of the dead, but only the spirits of royalty were considered important. People venerated these spirits and honored in rites held by their royal descendants. The members of the ruling class were also venerated in Babylonia. They were remembered by festive ceremonies. In Zoroastrianism, the dead were believed to be involved in the affairs of the living. In Greece, ancestor worship and hero worship often overlapped. The spirits of men who were heroic during their lifetime were honored in special ceremonies and often made as objects of worship. Ancestor worship in Rome was considered a family activity. It was believed that deceased relatives would come visit their relatives and often interact in their lives.
Greek carving from the hero cult
East Asia
China and Japan were the greatest examples of ancestor worship in East Asia. The roots of ancestor worship in China come from the teachings of Confucius. He enforced a reverence for elders as a form of filial piety. Families in China were viewed as a close group of living and dead relatives. There were also many activities that took place to worship ancestors. Devotional acts took place in temples, homes and graveyards to honor ancestor spirits. The Chinese also made shrines for their deceased ancestors that contained a tablet with their name. Funerals and commemorative ceremonies were very important and very well planned. The relatives would make a pilgrimage to their deceased relative’s grave.
Most Japanese ancestor worship customs mimic those of China. Japanese Buddhists began to focus on many aspects of ancestor worship like commemorative ceremonies. Since many Confucian teachings became principles of Japanese Buddhist sects, filial piety was an important matter in Japan. There is also a celebration that happens yearly where the dead return to their home.
Chinese Ancestor Shrine
Andean Areas
The Incas respected their ancestors very highly. They dedicated the whole month of November to honor them. They called this celebration “Quechua”. During this month, the dead were removed from their tombs, adorned in fancy clothing, and given food, carried dancing through the streets, then laid to rest once again. This practice was done at first only with royal people of importance, but it was later common among all classes. The Incas believed in the departure of the soul from the body after death, but still mummified their royal ancestors and had them taken care of by guards. These ancestors participated in many council meetings and important decision making. Among the common classes, ancestors were kept in houses, tombs and shrines. They were regularly venerated and taken care of. They were regularly paid tribute by sacrifice and prayer. Veneration to relatives that were non-royal was usually only done by close relatives such as children and grandchi
ldren. These rituals were done to make good fortune for the living relatives.
Inca Ancestor Mummies
"Ancestor Worship-Among the Inca." . N.p.. Web. 20 Nov 2013. <http://science.jrank.org/pages/8280/Ancestor-Worship-Among-Inca.html>.
Kopytoff, Igor. "Ancestors as Elders in Africa." . N.p.. Web. 20 Nov 2013. <http://www.era.anthropology.ac.uk/era_resources/era/Ancestors/kopytoff.html>.
"ancestor worship" Encyclopædia Britannica Online.http://www.eb.com:180/bol/topic?artcl=109471&seq_nbr=1&page=n&isctn=4Accessed 27 July 1999. Copyright © 1994-1999 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
CRISTINA CARREON
Daoism:
Medical Theories
Medical theories and practices are that they believe in acupuncture for healing. Evidence from these trials indicates that acupuncture is effective for emesis developing after surgery of for adults who have nausea associated with pregnancy. Good evidence exists that acupuncture is also effective for relieving dental pain. For such conditions as chronic pain, back pain, and headache.
Daoism influenced much of Chinese architecture which includes; temples, palaces, nunneries, altars, and huts. To this day, this architecture is still seen in china.
Poetry:
Poetry has always been an important aspect of Daoism practice. In Daoist poems we find expressions of the ineffable, praises of the beauty of the natural world, and playful paradoxical references to the mysterious Tao. The flowering of Daoist poetry occurred in the Tang Dynasty, with Li Po and Tu Fu as its most esteemed representatives.
Metallugry:
Daoists were the alchemists of china, in their quest for immortality they understood the workings of metal. Daoists were always coming up with new discoveries of the world and this happened to be one of them. The use of copper in ancient China dates to at least back to 2000 BC. The reason for the lack of earlier evidence of copper is that it was both highly valuable and reusable early bronze. Bronze Age began from around The Erlitou culture, Shang Dynasty and Sanxingdui culture of early China used bronze vessels for rituals as well as farming implements and weapons. By 1500 BC, excellent bronzes were being made in China in large quantities, partly as a display of status, and as many as 200 large pieces were buried with their owner for use in the afterlife, as in the Tomb of Fu Hao, a Shang queen.
http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=715153
http://www.patheos.com/Library/Taoism.html
Architectural achievements of the Classical Era.
Architecture in classical times was pioneered by the Greeks. As historians call them there are five orders of architecture. Features of these orders are most noticeable in the columns. The orders are: Corinthian, Doric, Ionic, Composite and Tuscan. The composite as the name can tell were influenced by the Doric ionic and Corinthian orders. The early Doric columns had no base, were thinner at the top and had grooves
When Greeks built public buildings they certainly loved to use marble but for personal house and other insignificant buildings they used wood. Later in history Greeks started to move toward limestone and marble for important buildings especially temples.
The Parthenon, some could argue was the pinnacle of Greek architecture, which housed the statue of Athena were built using Doric and ionic orders. Other temples such as the temple of Artemis, Poseidon and Zeu
Egyptians also had enormous pyramids built of solid stone to honor their king gods( pharaohs). The great sphinxes temples and obelisks were definitely a huge breakthrough in architectural achievements
Classical architecture influenced the western buildings and Europeans structures. The construction of enormous stadiums (Rome) amphitheaters and buildings containing columns (Greek) and even the Washington monument (Egyptian).
Veronica Bailey Peiod 5.